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268Towards safer and more secure citiesFlexible …approaches to …security of tenureare more advisablethan approachesgrounded inideologyTenure systems existwithin a continuumin which evenpavement dwellersmay enjoy a degreeof legal protectionGranting of full titleto ‘owners’ insettlement upgradingschemes tends tolead to marketevictions of tenantsMoreover, and in turn, we open up – rather than close – theavenues through which security of tenure (in a manner fullyconsistent with human rights) can be provided. The explicithuman rights dimensions of security of tenure have not beenlong on the international agenda; but they are there now andneed to be used as the basis for improving the prospects forsecure tenure so that this right can be enjoyed universallyand sustainably by everyone, everywhere.THE NEED FOR INNOVATIVEAPPROACHES TO TENUREThe major lesson learned from a variety of tenure initiativestaken in preceding decades is simply that flexible and innovativeapproaches to providing security of tenure are moreadvisable than approaches grounded in ideology and thegeneration of capital. Such a view is increasingly shared byresearchers and practitioners, as well as by internationalorganizations. The World Bank, for example, who earlieradvocated title-based approaches, states that:Tenure security, one of the key goals of publicland policies, can be achieved under differentmodalities of land ownership. Instead of anoften ideological stance in favor of full privateownership rights, long-term secure tenure andtransferable leases will convey many of the samebenefits to owners and may be preferable wherefull ownership rights and titles would be toopolitically controversial or too costly. 23Any successful initiative to provide tenure will need to bebased on a recognition that innovation is required for manyreasons, not the least of which is the fact that there are manydiverse types of tenure and varying degrees of legality and defacto and de jure protection associated with both. Although avariety of tenure types was listed in Chapter 5, the ‘reality isthat tenure systems exist within a continuum in which evenpavement dwellers may enjoy a degree of legal protection’. 24Furthermore, in practice, there are numerous sub-marketsbetween those with the highest and the lowest levels oftenure security. The majority of urban dwellers in developingcountries have some form of de facto security to the housingand land that they occupy. The actual legal status of theirhousing and land occupancy may not even be clear to theoccupants themselves. What matters in the everyday life ofthe majority of urban dwellers is their perception of security.Everything else being equal, if the residents themselves inone location consider the risks of eviction to be marginal,their level of security of tenure is, indeed, higher than thatof others who perceive higher eviction risks.Experience shows that settlements upgradingapproaches, which include the granting of full freehold title,may, in fact, result in an increase in informal settlementsrather than a decrease. This may occur because granting suchtitles implies that households acquire an asset that can be soldat a high price in the formal land market. Many householdsmay thus be encouraged to sell, realize the capital value, andmove on to another informal settlement, perhaps even hopingto repeat the process. Furthermore, as noted above, traditionalslum upgrading approaches also tend to ignore thesituation of tenants. Granting of full title to ‘owners’ in settlementupgrading schemes tends to lead to market evictions oftenants. Again, the result is often the same: the poorest areforced to relocate to other informal settlements.The main question faced is thus how to increasesecurity of tenure without forcing the poor to relocate tomore peripheral locations where lack of employment opportunitymay further enhance their poverty. Although nouniversally applicable answers to these questions exist,experience indicates that the main focus should be onproviding forms of tenure that are sufficiently secure toensure protection from eviction. 25 At the same time, HLPrights and regulatory frameworks should cater for multipurposeuse of their dwellings (i.e. support the development ofhome-based and other small-scale enterprises) 26 and ensureaccess to basic services.So, which types of tenure provide such levels ofsecurity? Again, there are no universally applicable answers.In addition to the most obvious solution (i.e. a moratoriumon forced evictions; see below), several options have beensuccessfully employed. Among these are temporary occupationlicences, communal or individual leases, communityland trusts, communal ownership, customary tenure, andothers that are detailed below.A recent UK Department for InternationalDevelopment (DFID)-funded survey explored innovativeways of providing secure tenure to the urban poor byexamining unique methods of tenure provision. The surveyrevealed that certificates of use or occupancy, communityland trusts and other forms of what could be calledintermediate forms of tenure provide a valuable means ofincreasing legitimacy. Furthermore, the existence of theseapproaches also provides valuable breathing space for localgovernments, while the administrative capability to recordand clarify rights is improved. The survey also exposed thattenure issues cannot be isolated from other related policiesof urban land management and that it is important not to putall of one’s eggs in one or two baskets. It is essential to offera wide range of tenure options so that the diverse and changingneeds of households can be met on a long-term basisthrough competition. 27 Linking innovative approaches suchas these with HLP rights and the right to security of placecould truly create the basis for an entirely new approach toensuring security of tenure for all.A range of innovative approaches to providing tenureis used in Brazil. One of these – ‘use concessions’ – is ameasure through which the government transfers the rightto use property for residential purposes to families settled inpublic areas without the transfer of property title. Useconcession can be an appropriate measure in establishingthe collective occupation of areas such as favelas. Thesemeasures can provide the population with security of tenureand impede forced eviction, and can also be a mechanismguaranteeing the social purpose of a public area, thus avoidingreal estate speculation since such public areas are not‘privatized’.